Throne of Glass Novellas (#0.1 - 0.4)by Sarah J. Maass
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Grade: Young
Adult
Publication Date:
between Jan 2012 – July 2012
Source: Kindle store
Age Rating: 14+
A Throne of Glass
novella (synopsis for #0.1).
On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes—and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about.
On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes—and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about.
My Review
I read these novellas
during the summer and they are fantastic! These are all prequels to
the novel series, Throne of Glass, which is already out now.
As of writing and publishing this review, I have yet to read the
first novel, but reading these novellas completely sold me on buying
the novel, so I have it waiting on my shelf.
These are fully
realized, complete stories about the trained assassin, Celaena
Sardothien, who is the number one assassin in her country of
residence. There are, like a lot of fantasy novels, neighboring
kingdoms and she does get to travel to some of the nearby kingdoms
during her adventures in assassinating people. She's a funny girl and
very much a girly-girl, despite being so deadly. She loves to wear
pretty dresses and play the pianoforte. She starts out really spoiled
and bratty at age 16, but, through her trials of these novellas, she
matures.
I really like Sam, her
childhood friend and rival assassin in the Assassin's Guild who
becomes her love interest. Definitely no
insta-love-upon-meeting-her-soul-mate-nonsense going on here. She
just learns to see him a different way because they're both maturing
before each others' eyes and he's become pretty darn good-looking in
his young adulthood, ahem. I also hate, hate, HATE their boss
Arobynn, who really is a truly worthy villain character. My lord,
this man is so heinous and Machiavellian, it's sick. What he does to
Celaena and Sam is beyond. I've never been so in hate with a
villain character. It's pretty awesome.
Celaena doesn't spend a
whole lot of time killing people because the stories are more about
what she goes through that makes her become who she is by the time
you read Book 1, and by then, she has spent some time as a
slave/prisoner in the salt mines of Endovier due to the king's
punishment. It really sets things up for the novel and I figure I'll
have a much firmer grasp on it than would somebody else who just
jumps into it without batting an eyelash at the novellas. I love
having so much of the story set up and extra material for this
amazing series. Check these out, people!
Average score: 4.5/5
stars.
I might have to go and check these out. There is so much buzz around Throne if Glass that I've been reluctant to read it but a novella might be doable for me right now. You really intruiged me with this friendship turned romance. Though I remember from reading reviews at other places that she clearly doesn't end up with him....
ReplyDelete@Lan: I think they're getting buzz, but not as much as they could be. Despite that, they're fantastic novellas. And, yeah, Celaena doesn't get to "end up" with Sam in the final sense, which is sad.
DeleteUgh! I haven't even read Throne of Glass yet! :(
ReplyDelete@Jenny: I know, neither have I! I'm probably going to read it next month.
DeleteThnks for the recommendation! I just added these to my Goodreads shelf and can't wait to check them out. I am on a novella kick rigt now. Just finished Weighted, which you reviewed not too long ago.
ReplyDelete@Camille: Novellas are awesome, aren't they? I love reading short fiction, and these novellas are really, really good. I hope you liked Weighted!
DeleteI agree, I think the book was really good.
ReplyDeleteI truly love that title.
ReplyDelete